Sewage/wastewater treatment system using granular activated sludge and membrane bio-reactor and sewage/wastewater treatment method using the same

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a sewage/wastewater treatment system using granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactor and a sewage/wastewater treatment method using the same that are configured to effectively remove pollutants contained in raw water through a granulation tank in which the granular activated sludge is contained and to allow the raw water to be filtered through movable membranes located on the upper portion of the granulation tank. The system includes: an indirect aeration tank adapted to supply air thereto to allow dissolved oxygen contained in raw water to reach a saturation concentration; a granulation tank adapted to allow floating microorganisms contained in the treated water passing through the indirect aeration tank to be granulated and having a sludge blanket formed thereon; and movable membranes located on the upper portion of the granulation tank in such a manner as to be movable in the granulation tank.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Korean Application No.10-2016-0006000, filed Jan. 18, 2016, and Korean Application No.10-2016-0044779, filed Apr. 12, 2016, the contents of each of which areincorporated herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a sewage/wastewater treatment systemusing granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactor and asewage/wastewater treatment method using the same that are configured toeffectively remove pollutants contained in raw water through agranulation tank in which the granular activated sludge is contained andto allow the raw water to be filtered through movable membranes locatedon the upper portion of the granulation tank, thereby conductingadvanced water treatment for tap water for miscellaneous.

Generally, an activated sludge system, which is commonly used asbiological sewage/wastewater treatment equipment, needs an aerobic tankfor oxidizing organic matters by using floating microorganisms and asecondary clarifier for conducting solid-liquid separation so thattreated water is separated from the floating microoragnisms.

However, the facility for the secondary clarifier is complicated in themechanical device thereof, sensitive in the hydraulic load thereof, andcauses various problems like sludge rising, and recently, accordingly, avariety of water treatment technologies wherein membranes are submergedin the aerobic tank using the activated sludge system (which is called amembrane bio-reactor MBR) have been developed and suggested.

The MBR system is configured wherein water treatment is conducted with asingle or continuous modified activated sludge processes so as toeffectively remove the pollutants contained in sewage and wastewater,and in this case, microfiltration MF membranes or ultrafiltration UFmembranes are used as physical barriers for complete solid-liquidseparation. The UF and MF membranes are submerged in the interior of thebio-reactor or in the exterior of the bio-reactor.

If the membranes are submerged and operated for the replacement of theclarifier in the activated sludge system, however, the activated sludgemay be broken by means of the sticky characteristics thereof and theaeration, and thus, the surfaces of the membranes may be clogged withthe fine particles of the activated sludge, so that the membranes shouldbe often cleaned. Due to the clogging of the membranes, accordingly,there are many difficulties in actually applying the membranebio-reactor to the water treatment system.

So as to prevent the membranes from being clogged due to the brokenactivated sludge, there is a sludge granulation method usingself-granulation characteristics of microorganisms. Representatively,there are an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket method conducted throughupflow under an anaerobic condition and a granulation method conductedunder an aerobic condition. Now, the granulation method under theaerobic condition will be in detail explained.

If the microorganisms of the aerobic tank for the activated sludge arecontacted with each other at a slow speed by means of an agitator, thecontacts between the activated sludge are generated by means of thebridge reaction of the activated sludge to allow the activated sludge tobind with each other, so that the activated sludge becomes granulatedthrough self-granulation thereof, without having any media, and thegranular activated sludge is excellent in the submerging capability andcompact in size, thereby reducing the volume occupied by the reactortank and requiring no clarifier.

The activated sludge granulation device largely includes an indirectaeration tank and a granulation tank, wherein the indirect aeration tankintroduces water from the upper portion of the granulation tank,excessively aerates the water introduced thereinto, and introduces thewater in which dissolved oxygen is abundant into the granulation tank,as upward flow, so as to allow the sludge in the granulation tank to bemaintained in an aerobic condition, and the granulation tank is adaptedto allow the contacts between the sludge to be generated through thevortexes caused by the hydrodynamic force generated from the indirectaeration tank toward the granulation tank or through an agitatordisposed in the granulation tank.

A sewage/wastewater treatment systems and methods using granular sludgeis disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1336988 (issued on Dec. 5, 2013), andthe system is configured wherein anaerobic granular sludge, firstaerobic granular sludge, second aerobic granular sludge andnitrification granular sludge are injected correspondingly into ananaerobic tank, anoxic tank, a first aerobic tank and a second aerobictank, each of them having a separation plate, thereby greatly improvingthe treatment efficiencies of the pollutants such as organic matters,nitrogen, phosphate and so on in the sewage and wastewater.

However, the conventional system is configured to allow the treatedwater to pass through a clarifier in which membranes are additionallydisposed to separate and discharge the floating microorganisms containedin the treated water passing the aerobic tank, thereby disadvantageouslyincreasing the installation area and requiring separate facilities suchas an air collection device, a pump, and a pipe for cleaning themembranes.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made in view of theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the related art, and it is anobject of the present disclosure to provide a sewage/wastewatertreatment system using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor that is configured to effectively remove pollutantscontained in raw water through a granulation tank in which the granularactivated sludge is contained and to allow the raw water to be filteredthrough movable membranes located on the upper portion of thegranulation tank, thereby reducing or minimizing the installation areathereof, improving the treatment efficiencies of pollutants such asorganic matters, nitrogen, phosphate and so on, and conducting advancedwater treatment.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide asewage/wastewater treatment system using granular activated sludge and amembrane bio-reactor and a sewage/wastewater treatment method using thesame that are configured to provide agitation means in a granulationtank so as to apply given agitating effects to a sludge blanket formedinside the granulation tank, thereby preventing the sludge blanket frombeing attached to the bottom surface of the granulation tank, therebyreducing or minimizing the installation cost and the operating cost.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to a first aspectof the present disclosure, there is provided a sewage/wastewatertreatment system using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor, the system including: an indirect aeration tank adapted tosupply air thereto to allow dissolved oxygen contained in raw water toreach a saturation concentration; a granulation tank adapted to allowfloating microorganisms contained in the treated water passing throughthe indirect aeration tank to be granulated and having a sludge blanketformed thereon; and movable membranes located on the upper portion ofthe granulation tank in such a manner as to be movable in thegranulation tank.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the granulation tank hasan agitator adapted to apply given agitating effects to the sludgeblanket to prevent the sludge blanket from being attached to the innerwall of the bottom surface thereof, so that the granulation in thegranulation tank is conducted out by gelatin as by-products generated bythe contacts of the floating microorganisms, and the granulation isaccelerated through a first hydrodynamic force caused by the treatedwater conveyed from the indirect aeration tank and a second hydrodynamicforce caused by the agitation means of the granulation tank.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the agitator is disposedinside the granulation tank.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the movable membranesare low pressure microfiltration MF membranes or ultrafiltration UFmembranes.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the sewage/wastewatertreatment system further includes a partitioning wall formed to dividethe interior of the granulation tank into upper and lower portions so asto reduce or prevent the turbulent flows generated from the movements ofthe movable membranes in the granulation tank from moving to the sludgeblanket and to maintain the shape of the sludge blanket, and thepartitioning wall is a porous member or inclined plates arranged atgiven intervals.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the sewage/waste watertreatment system further includes a reciprocating device adapted toreciprocate the movable membranes forward and backward or left and rightin the granulation tank so as to reduce the contamination of the movablemembranes, and the reciprocating device includes: sliding framesreciprocatingly connected to the movable membranes; rotors connected tothe sliding frames by means of shafts and performing rotational motions;and a motor for rotating the rotors and converting the rotationalmotions of the rotors into the reciprocating motions of the slidingframes through the shafts connected to the sliding frames. Desirably,the reciprocating device further includes buffers located between thesliding frames and the shafts to reduce the impact loads generatedtherefrom, and the sliding frames are varied along sliding rails onwhich linear bearings and shaft-supports are located.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the movable membranescontinuously move during supernatant liquid in the granulation tank isfiltered or selectively move if required to prevent the contaminationthereof.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the agitation means isadapted to agitate the sludge blanket in the granulation tank and at thesame time to drive the movable membranes in the granulation tank, andthe agitation means includes an auxiliary water circulation line adaptedto allow the treated water passing through the sludge blanket to becirculated again from the upper portion of the granulation tank to thelower portion thereof. At this time, the treated water is circulatedthrough the auxiliary water circulation line by means of the forcegenerated from the movements of the movable membranes.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to a second aspectof the present disclosure, there is provided a sewage/wastewatertreatment method using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor, the method comprising the steps of: supplying air to rawwater containing pollutants therein to aerate the raw water; granulatingfloating microorganisms contained in treated water in which dissolvedoxygen is in a saturated state through the aeration step; and filteringsupernatant liquid except the granulated sludge in the granulation stepthrough movable membranes and discharging the supernatant liquid to theoutside, wherein in the granulation step, a sludge blanket formed by thegranulated floating microorganisms is agitated through agitation means.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the granulation in thegranulation step is conducted by gelatin as by-products generated by thecontacts of the floating microorganisms, and the granulation isaccelerated through a first hydrodynamic force caused by the treatedwater conveyed through the aeration step and a second hydrodynamic forcecaused by the agitation means in the granulation step.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, a granulation tank, inwhich the granulation step and the filtration step are carried out,further comprises a partitioning wall formed to divide the interior ofthe granulation tank into upper and lower portions so as to reduce orprevent the turbulent flows generated from the movements of the movablemembranes in the granulation tank from moving to the sludge blanket andto maintain the shape of the sludge blanket.

According to the present disclosure, desirably, the second hydrodynamicforce is formed by means of an agitator disposed inside the granulationtank or an auxiliary water circulation line adapted to allow the treatedwater passing through the sludge blanket to be circulated again from theupper portion of the granulation tank to the lower portion thereof, andthe partitioning wall is a porous member or inclined plates arranged atgiven intervals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a water treatment system in whichgranular sludge and a membrane bio-reactor are combinedly used;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a combined sewage/wastewatertreatment system using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a combined sewage/wastewatertreatment system using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a combined sewage/wastewatertreatment system using granular activated sludge and a membranebio-reactor according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the contamination preventionprinciple of movable membranes disposed in a granulation tank of thecombined sewage/wastewater treatment system according to the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an explanation on a combined sewage/wastewater treatmentsystem using granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactoraccording to preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be indetail given with reference to the attached drawings. Before thedescription, the terms or terminology used in the description and claimsof the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and are not intended to be limiting.

In the description, when it is said that one element is described as“includes” any component, one element further may include othercomponents unless no specific description is suggested.

Terms, such as the first and the second may be used to describe variouselements, but the elements should not be restricted by the terms. Theterms are used to only distinguish one element from the other element.For example, a first element may be named a second element, and in thesame manner as above, a second element may be named a first element.

Even if not mentioned specifically in the description, ‘raw water’ meanssewage or wastewater in which a variety of pollutants are contained sothat water treatment is needed. Further, ‘treated water’ means the rawwater passing through each stage, step and device, ‘return water’ is aportion of raw water returned to its pre-stage, step or device, and‘granulation’ means a phenomenon wherein microorganisms contained in theraw water bind to each other to form shapes of granules. Hereinafter, itshould be understood that the granulation is not distinguished from‘coagulation’ or ‘flocculation’ that means a phenomenon in whichindividual particles bind to each other through their contact to formbig aggregates, but it should be understood to have large meaningincluding the coagulation or flocculation.

Referring to FIG. 1 showing a membrane bio-reactor (MBR) in whichmembranes are submerged into an aerobic tank of an existing activatedsludge system, a water treatment system includes: an indirect aerationtank 100 adapted to supply air thereto to allow dissolved oxygencontained in raw water to reach a saturation concentration by ahydrodynamic force applied from the introduced raw water or the returnwater from a granulation tank 200 and by air supplied therefrom andadapted to be ready for the granulation of pollutants contained in theraw water, so as to remove the pollutants from the raw water; thegranulation tank 200 adapted to allow the raw water in which thedissolved oxygen is saturated through the indirect aeration tank 100 tobe granulated to the form of sludge; and a filtration tank 300 adaptedto take supernatant liquid from the granulation tank 200 except thegranulated sludge therefrom, pass the supernatant liquid throughmembranes, and discharge the supernatant liquid as treated water to theoutside.

The membranes disposed in the filtration tank 300 should be periodicallycleaned, while being used for a long period of time, because they arecontaminated by fine granulated pollutants. Accordingly, an amount ofenergy consumed is increased, and further, since an aeration device, apump and a pipe, into which air can be injected, should be disposed inthe filtration tank 300 so as to prevent the membranes from beingcontaminated, an installation cost is also raised.

So as to remove the problems occurring in the membrane bio-reactor inwhich the membranes are submerged into the aerobic tank of the existingactivated sludge system, accordingly, a sewage/wastewater treatmentsystem using granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactoraccording to the present disclosure is configured to allow thepollutants contained in the raw water to be granulated through agranular activated sludge method and effectively remove the granulatedpollutants. Further, the treated water is discharged to the outsidethrough movable membranes, thus reducing or minimizing clogging causedwhen the membranes are submerged, increasing the cleaning period ofcleaning for the membranes and the operating period of the membranes,and obtaining advanced treated water.

The sewage/wastewater treatment system using the granular activatedsludge and the membrane bio-reactor according to the present disclosureis an advanced continuous flow water treatment system in which anindirect aeration tank and a granulation tank are sequentially arranged,thus improving or optimizing the treatment efficiencies of thepollutants such as organic matters, nitrogen and phosphorus contained inthe raw water and reducing or minimizing the volumes of the tanksthrough short hydraulic staying time. So as to allow solid-liquidseparation in post processes to be gently performed in an easy manner,further, the indirect aeration tank and the granulation tank aresequentially arranged, and next, good quality of granular activatedsludge is injected into the indirection aerobic tank and the granulationtank, thus performing the water treatment.

The term ‘granular activated sludge’ means that microorganisms containedin activated sludge bind to each other and are thus granulated byself-granulation according to biological, physical, and chemicalfactors, without requiring any bio-films including high-priced media,rotor and so on.

The granular activated sludge includes anaerobic granular sludge andaerobic granular sludge which are selectively usable according to thestate of the raw water and the operating method of the system, andaccording to the present disclsoure, desirably, the aerobic granularsludge is used. Further, an amount of granular activated sludge isdesirably determined through appropriate adjustment of mixed liquorsuspended solids MLSS of the granulation tank according to theconcentrations of the organic matters and nitrogen contained in the rawwater.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a sewage/wastewater treatmentsystem using granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactoraccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and in moredetail, the sewage/wastewater treatment system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure includes: an indirect aeration tank100 adapted to supply air thereto to allow dissolved oxygen contained inraw water to reach a saturation concentration; a granulation tank 200having a sludge blanket 250 formed therein to allow the pollutantscontained in the treated water passing through the indirect aerationtank 100 to be granulated; and movable membranes 500 located on theupper portion of the granulation tank 200 in such a manner as to bemovable in the granulation tank 200.

Further, the granulation tank 200 includes an agitator mounted thereinto apply given agitating effects to the sludge blanket 250, thusreducing or preventing the sludge blanket 250 from being attachedfixedly to the inner wall of the bottom surface thereof.

The indirect aeration tank 100 receives air through an air injectiondevice 110, supplies the air received from the lower side thereof to theupper side thereof through nozzles 111 disposed on the lower portionthereof, and generates upward flows, so that the dissolved oxygen of theraw water introduced through a water introduction line 410 reaches asaturation state.

The air injection device 110 is available with a member used to injectthe air used for water treatment, without any limitation, and in thiscase, the air injection device 110 performs the air injection from thelower side of the indirect aeration tank 100 to the upper side thereofthrough the nozzles 111, thus allowing the upward flows to be generatedin the indirect aeration tank 100.

The raw water in which the dissolved oxygen is in the saturated statethrough the indirect aeration tank 100 is introduced into the lowerportion of the granulation tank 200 through a water conveying line 430,so that the hydrodynamic force caused by the flow of raw water and theagitating force caused by an agitator 210 disposed in the granulationtank 200 are applied to the granular activated sludge to allow thegranular activated sludge to collide against each other, thereby makingthe granular activated sludge granulated by way of gelatin asmicroorganism reaction by-products. At this time, the granulation tank200 is formed under an aerobic environment by means of the raw water inwhich the dissolved oxygen is abundant, and organic matter removalmicroorganisms and nitrogen component oxidization microorganisms, whichuse the dissolved oxygen as electron acceptors, become granulatedthrough the hydrodynamic force and the agitating force.

Especially, the granulation in the interior of the granulation tank 200is carried out by way of the gelatin as the by-products generated by thecontacts of floating microorganisms, and the granulation is acceleratedthrough the first hydrodynamic force caused by the treated waterconveyed from the indirect aeration tank 100 and the second hydrodynamicforce caused by agitation means of the granulation tank 200.

The agitation may be provided by the agitator 210 disposed inside thegranulation tank 200 or an auxiliary water circulation line 437 throughwhich the treated water passing through the sludge blanket 250 iscirculated again from the upper portion of the granulation tank 200 tothe lower portion thereof. The treated water is circulated through theauxiliary water circulation line 437 by way of the force generated bythe movements of the movable membranes 500. Through the rotation of theagitator 210, further, the granulation of the granulation tank 200 isaccelerated, thus effectively reducing or preventing the sludge blanket250 from being submergedly attached to the bottom surface of thegranulation tank 200.

Accordingly, the second hydrodynamic force is generated by way of theagitator 210 disposed inside the granulation tank 200 or the auxiliarywater circulation line 437 adapted to allow the treated water passingthrough the sludge blanket 250 to be circulated again from the upperportion of the granulation tank 200 to the lower portion thereof.

If the agitator 210 is used for the agitation, the agitator 210 operatesby way of a separate motor or power source, but desirably, it mayoperate by way of a motor for operating the movable membranes 500disposed inside the granulation tank 200.

At this time, if the rotating speed of the agitator 210 and the movingspeed of the movable membranes 500 are not the same as each other,desirably, gears having an appropriate rotational ratio are additionallyprovided, thereby controlling the agitation speed of the agitator 210and the moving speed of the movable membranes 500 to optimized values.More desirably, appropriate revolutions per minute of the agitator 210is in the range of 25 to 40 rpm, and the moving speed of the movablemembranes 500 is in the range of 7 to 13 cm/sec.

Through a sludge discharge pipe 435 disposed on the lower side of thegranulation tank 200, the amount of granular activated sludge isreduced, and otherwise, the granular activated sludge is discharged tothe outside.

The organic matter removal microorganisms granulated under the aerobiccondition of the granulation tank 200 oxidize the organic matters andremove them, but the nitrogen component oxidization microorganismsoxidize ammonium nitrogen NH₄₊ contained in the raw water into nitratenitrogen NO₃ ⁻ or nitrite nitrogen NO₂ ⁻, so that the nitrogen oxidesremain at the dissolved state in the raw water. So as to remove thenitrate nitrogen or the nitrite nitrogen and to maintain theconcentration of the granular activated sludge in the granulation tank200, accordingly, a portion of the raw water mixed with the sludge isreturned to the indirect aeration tank 100 through a water returningline 433 formed on the upper portion of the sludge blanket 250, which isa mixed layer in which the sludge and the raw water are mixed with eachother.

The sewage/wastewater treatment system according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure includes the movable membranes 500 located onthe upper portion of the granulation tank 200 in such a manner as to bemovable in the granulation tank 200.

Further, the sewage/wastewater treatment system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure desirably includes a partitioningwall 230 formed to divide the interior of the granulation tank 200,thereby reducing or preventing the turbulent flows generated from themovements of the movable membranes 500 in the granulation tank 200 to betransferred to the sludge blanket 250 and allowing the sludge blanket250, as the mixed layer in which the granular activated sludge and theraw water in the granulation tank 200 are mixed with each other, to beseparated from the supernatant liquid.

Only if the partitioning wall 230 divides the space of the granulationtank 200 into upper and lower portions and at the same time does notblock the flow of raw water, it may be freely used, without having anylimitation in shape. Desirably, the partitioning wall 230 is formed witha porous member or inclined plates arranged at given intervals. Moredesirably, the partitioning wall 230 is formed with lamella inclinedplates.

The movable membranes 500 located on the upper portion of thegranulation tank 200 are movable inside the upper portion of thegranulation tank 200 so as to reduce the contamination thereof, anddesirably, they are reciprocated forward and backward or left and right.A reciprocating device may be further provided to perform thereciprocating motions of the movable membranes 500.

The reciprocating device includes sliding frames reciprocatinglyconnected to the membranes, rotors connected to the sliding frames bymeans of shafts and performing rotational motions, and a low speed motorfor rotating the rotors and converting the rotational motions of therotors into the reciprocating motions of the sliding frames through theshafts connected to the sliding frames.

In more detail, the movable membranes 500 may be low pressuremicrofiltration MF membranes or ultrafiltration UF membranes, which areused as physical barriers for complete solid-liquid separation, and themovable membranes 500 are mechanically connected to the reciprocatingdevice. The reciprocating device is used to reciprocate the movablemembranes 500, and for example, it may be used with a mechanical devicefor converting the rotational motions into the reciprocating motions.

The movable membranes 500 are continuously reciprocated while thesupernatant liquid is being filtered in the granulation tank 200, and ifnecessary to prevent the contamination of the movable membranes 500, itmay be selectively reciprocated.

The movable membranes 500 are connected to the sliding frames, and therotors driven by the motor are connected to the sliding frames via theshafts. Accordingly, the rotational motions of the rotors can beconverted into the reciprocating motions of the sliding frames, and thefrequencies and speeds of the reciprocating motions can be controlled bymeans of the rotational speeds of the rotors. In more detail, themotions of the shafts are generated through the motor, thus convertingthe rotational motions of the rotors into the reciprocating motions ofthe sliding frames. The impact loads caused by the reciprocating motionsare reduced through buffers provided between the sliding frames and theshafts, and the sliding frames are varied along sliding rails on whichlinear bearings and shaft-supports are located. According to the presentdisclosure, of course, the reciprocating device for reciprocating themovable membranes 500 may be used with different kinds of devicesproviding reciprocating motions.

At this time, the motor moves the movable membranes 500 and at the sametime moves the agitator 210 located in the granulation tank 200. In thiscase, since the movable membranes 500 and the agitator 210 operate withthe single motor, the whole installation cost and operating cost of thesewage/wastewater treatment system can be reduced. While the movementsof the movable membranes 500 and the rotation of the agitator 210 arebeing at the same time conducted through the single motor, a connectionhaving appropriate gear ratio is provided on connection portionsconnected to the shafts so as to appropriately adjust the moving speedsof the movable membranes 500 and the rotational speed of the agitator210. At this time, of course, a controller is additionally provided soas to monitor and control the operating speeds of the respectivecomponents in the sewage/wastewater treatment system.

Unlike the membranes used in the general MBR as suggested in FIG. 1 toseparate the pollutants therefrom through the air bubbles generated bythe air injection device, the movable membranes 500 adopted in thepresent disclosure as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 are reciprocated at a lowspeed, thus obtaining excellent cleaning effects through the inertialforces formed in the reverse direction to the moving direction thereof.Accordingly, the contamination of the movable membranes 500 can becontinuously reduced or prevented, no air injection device is needed, aninstallation space is not required separately at the outside to conductthe filtration through the membranes, and the movable membranes 500 areadopted and installed on the existing sewage/wastewater treatmentsystems.

As mentioned above, FIG. 2 shows the sewage/wastewater treatment systemusing the granular activated sludge and the membrane bio-reactoraccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and thesewage/wastewater treatment system according to the first embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes the indirect aeration tank 100 adaptedto supply air thereto to allow the dissolved oxygen contained in the rawwater to reach the saturation concentration; and the granulation tank200 having the sludge blanket 250 formed on the bottom surface of theinterior thereof and adapted to allow the floating microorganismscontained in the treated water passing through the indirect aerationtank 100 to be granulated.

At this time, the granulation tank 200 includes the agitator adapted toapply the given agitating effects to the sludge blanket 250 so as toprevent or reduce the sludge blanket 250 from being attached to theinner wall of the bottom surface thereof and the movable membranes 500located on the upper portion thereof in such a manner as to be movableat the inside thereof.

The granulation tank 200 further includes the partitioning wall 230located at the inside thereof to divide the internal space thereof intoupper and lower portions, and the sludge blanket 250 is formed under thepartitioning wall 230. Further, the granulation tank 200 includes theagitator 210 adapted to agitate the sludge blanket 250, and the agitator210 is connected to the motor to apply the motions of the movablemembranes 500, above the partitioning wall 230. The driving motor of theagitator 210 may be provided separately from the motor of the movablemembranes 500.

FIG. 3 shows a sewage/wastewater treatment system using granularactivated sludge and a membrane bio-reactor according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the movements of theagitator 210 and the movable membranes 500 are at the same timeconducted by way of the single motor.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a sewage/wastewater treatmentsystem using granular activated sludge and a membrane bio-reactoraccording to a third embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein noagitator 210 is additionally located on the lower portion of thegranulation tank 200, and the auxiliary water circulation line 437, asthe agitator for the sludge blanket 250, is formed to allow the treatedwater passing through the sludge blanket 250 to be circulated again fromthe upper portion of the granulation tank 200 to the lower portionthereof.

Instead of the agitator 210 located on the lower portion of thegranulation tank 200, the flow of the treated water is induced throughthe auxiliary water circulation line 437 formed on the outside of thegranulation tank 200 by way of the inertial forces generated from themovements of the movable membranes 500 on the upper portion of thegranulation tank 200, so that it is possible that the agitating effectsare provided to the sludge blanket 250 and the granulation isaccelerated. If the auxiliary water circulation line 437 is adopted, nopower is additionally required for the flow of treated water, thusreducing the operating cost.

If it is desired to selectively control the flowing speed of the treatedwater through the auxiliary water circulation line 437, a low speedmotor or a deceleration member may be additionally provided on theauxiliary water circulation line 437.

According to the present disclosure, on the other hand, there isprovided a sewage/wastewater treatment method using granular activatedsludge and a membrane bio-reactor, the method including the steps of:supplying air to raw water containing pollutants therein to allow theraw water to be aerated; granulating floating microorganisms containedin the treated water in which dissolved oxygen is in a saturated statethrough the aeration step; and filtering supernatant liquid except thegranulated sludge in the granulation step through movable membranes anddischarging the supernatant liquid to the outside. In this case, thewater treatment is conducted through the water treatment systemaccording to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure asshown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

In the sewage/wastewater treatment method according to the presentdisclosure, desirably, the aeration step is conducted wherein the air issupplied to the raw water containing pollutants therein to allow thedissolved oxygen in the raw water to be in the saturated state.

Through the granulation step wherein the floating microorganisms, whichare contained in the treated water in which dissolved oxygen is in thesaturated state through the aeration step, are granulated, the granularactivated sludge is made, so that the organic matters are activelydissolved through the granular activated sludge, thereby obtainingenergy, and the organic matters in the raw water are converted into newmicroorganisms C₅H₇O₂N, CO₂ and so on through cell synthesis and thenremoved.

Further, phosphate accumulating organisms PAOs contained in the granularactivated sludge dissolve polyhydroxybutyrate PHB stored in cells inaerobic states into oxygen, while taking orthophosphate from theoutside, and store it to the form of poly-phosphate in the cells. So asto continuously supply adenosine triphosphate ATP as an energy sourceneeded for synthesis process, an amount of phosphate taken by the PAOs(of which dominant species is acinetobacter) from the outside isincreased, and the microorganisms having large intake amount ofphosphate are separated to the form of floating microorganism from thegranular activated sludge and thus discharged together with the aerobicfloating microorganisms contained in the raw water. The dischargedfloating microorganisms are discharged together with the sludgesubmerged into the lower portion of the granulation tank 200, andaccordingly, the phosphate contained in the raw water is finallyremoved.

The supernatant liquid except the granular activated sludge granulatedthrough the granulation step is then subjected to the filtration stepwherein it passes through the movable membranes 500 and is thusdischarged as treated water for tap water for miscellaneous.

The internal structures of the movable membrane and the granulation tankhave been already described in detail, and accordingly, no explanationon them will be given anymore for the brevity of the description.

According to the present disclosure, therefore, the sewage/wastewatertreatment system and method using the granular activated sludge and themembrane bio-reactor are configured wherein aerobic and anaerobicdigestion of the granular activated sludge are at the same timeconducted, the time for the existing biological treatment is reduced byusing excellent submerging capability through the granulation, and theinstallation area for clarifiers is decreased. Further, the movablemembranes are located on the upper portion of the granulation tank,thereby conducting the filtration and discharging at the same time whenthe granulation is conducted, so that there is no need to additionallyinstall an aeration device, a pump, a pipe and so on so as to conductmembrane filtration and to increase a membrane use period, therebyreducing the installation area, and the period of cleaning of themembranes is extended longer, thereby increasing the operating periodand obtaining excellent energy saving effects.

As set forth in the foregoing, the sewage/wastewater treatment systemand method using the granular activated sludge and the membranebio-reactor according to the present disclosure are configured toeffectively remove the pollutants contained in the raw water through thegranulation tank in which the granular activated sludge is contained andto allow the treated water to be filtered through the movable membraneslocated on the upper portion of the granulation tank to conduct theadvanced water treatment, thereby reducing or minimizing thecontamination of the membranes as one of the problems occurring in theconventional biological water treatment system, extending the cleaningperiod of the membranes, and increasing the operating period of themembranes.

In addition, there is no need to additionally install an aerationdevice, a pump, a pipe and so on so as to conduct membrane filtrationand to increase a membrane use period, thereby reducing the installationarea, and the movable membranes are disposed inside the granulationtank, thereby making the whole system small in volume to reduce theinstallation area and capital expenditure and further decreasing anamount of energy consumed upon the operation of the system to reduceoperating expenses.

Moreover, the sewage/wastewater treatment system and method using thegranular activated sludge and the membrane bio-reactor according to thepresent disclosure are configured to have various kinds of agitationmeans disposed in the granulation tank so as to apply agitating effectsto the sludge blanket, thereby preventing the sludge blanket from beingattached to the bottom surface of the granulation tank and minimizingthe installation cost and the operating cost.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to theparticular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by theembodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodimentswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.The embodiments discussed have been presented by way of example only andnot limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the invention(s) shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents. Moreover, the above advantages and features are provided indescribed embodiments, but shall not limit the application of the claimsto processes and structures accomplishing any or all of the aboveadvantages.

Additionally, the section headings herein are provided for consistencywith the suggestions under 37 CFR 1.77 or otherwise to provideorganizational cues. These headings shall not limit or characterize theinvention(s) set out in any claims that may issue from this disclosure.Specifically and by way of example, although the headings refer to a“Technical Field,” the claims should not be limited by the languagechosen under this heading to describe the so-called technical field.Further, a description of a technology in the “Background” is not to beconstrued as an admission that technology is prior art to anyinvention(s) in this disclosure. Neither is the “Brief Summary” to beconsidered as a characterization of the invention(s) set forth in theclaims found herein. Furthermore, any reference in this disclosure to“invention” in the singular should not be used to argue that there isonly a single point of novelty claimed in this disclosure. Multipleinventions may be set forth according to the limitations of the multipleclaims associated with this disclosure, and the claims accordinglydefine the invention(s), and their equivalents, that are protectedthereby. In all instances, the scope of the claims shall be consideredon their own merits in light of the specification, but should not beconstrained by the headings set forth herein.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A raw water treatment method using a granularactivated sludge blanket and submerged movable membranes in agranulation tank, the method comprising: treating raw water by aeratingthe raw water so that dissolved oxygen contained in the raw water isallowed to reach a saturation concentration; forming the granularactivated sludge blanket in a lower portion of the granulation tank byallowing floating microorganisms contained in the treated raw water tobe granulated; filtering supernatant liquid by moving the submergedmovable membranes through an upper portion of the granulation tank todischarge the supernatant liquid; and agitating the granular activatedsludge blanket by driving the submerged movable membranes in thegranulation tank.
 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein thesubmerged movable membranes are driven using a single motor foragitating the granular activated sludge blanket.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 21, wherein the granular activated sludge blanket isformed by applying a first hydrodynamic force caused by the aerated rawwater being conveyed to the granulation tank and a second hydrodynamicforce caused by the granular activated sludge blanket being agitated.24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the granular activatedsludge blanket is formed by producing gelatin as a by-product generatedby contact of the floating microorganisms.
 25. The method according toclaim 21, further comprising: partitioning an interior of thegranulation tank into the upper and lower portions using a partitioningwall that includes a porous member.
 26. The method according to claim21, further comprising: partitioning an interior of the granulation tankinto the upper and lower portions using a partitioning wall thatincludes inclined plates arranged at intervals.
 27. The method accordingto claim 21, wherein the submerged movable membranes are moved byreciprocating the submerged movable membranes in the upper portion ofthe granulation tank.
 28. The method according to claim 21, wherein thesubmerged movable membranes are continuously moved while supernatantliquid in the granulation tank is filtered.
 29. The method according toclaim 21, wherein the submerged movable membranes are selectively moveddepending on contamination of the submerged movable membranes.
 30. A rawwater treatment method using a granular activated sludge blanket andsubmerged movable membranes in a granulation tank, the methodcomprising: treating raw water by aerating the raw water so thatdissolved oxygen contained in the raw water is allowed to reach asaturation concentration; forming the granular activated sludge blanketin a lower portion of the granulation tank by allowing floatingmicroorganisms contained in the treated raw water to be granulated;filtering supernatant liquid by moving the submerged movable membranesthrough an upper portion of the granulation tank to discharge thesupernatant liquid; and circulating treated raw water having passedthrough the granular activated sludge blanket into the upper portion ofthe granulation tank, the circulating treated raw water passing from theupper portion of the granulation tank directly to the lower portion ofthe granulation tank.
 31. The method according to claim 30, wherein thetreated raw water is circulated by a force generated from movements ofthe submerged movable membranes in the granulation tank.
 32. The methodaccording to claim 30, further comprising: controlling a flowing speedof the treated raw water from the upper portion of the granulation tankto the lower portion of the granulation tank.
 33. The method accordingto claim 30, wherein the granular activated sludge blanket is formed byapplying a first hydrodynamic force caused by the aerated raw waterbeing conveyed to the granulation tank and a second hydrodynamic forcecaused by the treated raw water circulating from the upper portion ofthe granulation tank to the lower portion of the granulation tank. 34.The method according to claim 30, wherein the granular activated sludgeblanket is formed by producing gelatin as a by-product generated bycontact of the floating microorganisms.
 35. The method according toclaim 30, further comprising: partitioning an interior of thegranulation tank into the upper and lower portions using a partitioningwall that includes a porous member.
 36. The method according to claim30, further comprising: partitioning an interior of the granulation tankinto the upper and lower portions using a partitioning wall thatincludes inclined plates arranged at intervals.
 37. The method accordingto claim 30, wherein the submerged movable membranes are moved byreciprocating the submerged movable membranes in the upper portion ofthe granulation tank.
 38. The method according to claim 30, wherein thesubmerged movable membranes are continuously moved while supernatantliquid in the granulation tank is filtered.
 39. The method according toclaim 30, wherein the submerged movable membranes are selectively moveddepending on contamination of the submerged movable membranes.